2020 Rebel
by HotChilliGriffin
Summary: Lies. Secrets. Betrayal. Angst. Splodeys. Implodeys. The Melbourne Saga. And meisters. Sequel to 2020 - Fugitive. I seriously recommend reading that first.
1. Chapter 1

**2020 – Rebel, chapter one**

The grenade flew through the air, hit the ground, and bounced once before finally coming to rest next to an oil drum. A second passed, and then both exploded, sending a small pink shape flying.

"Take that!" Ty crowed, pumping a fist in the air. "I declare war on Team 17!"

The smile fell from his face as a grenade was lobbed straight back at him.

"And _that_," said a very satisfied Pete, "Would be Charlie sending Team Tyler to the bottom of the ocean."

Kate scrutinised the 'battle field' in front of her. "I don't get it," she admitted after a pause.

"It's a game," Pete explained succinctly.

"Simulator."

"It's a game that Ty likes to pretend is a simulator."

"Teaches me how to throw grenades. And shoot things."

"Like you need a _simulator_ to teach you that."

"We don't get to throw live grenades on the practise field," Ty pointed out.

Pete rolled his eyes. "And that is really a live grenade," he muttered. Kate looked at the fist-sized ball that was used to represent the various grenade and cluster bomb style weapons.

"Worms War I – the best game this century."

"I thought it was a simulator," Kate teased, and Ty paused, considering his own words.

"Why don't you have a go?" Pete suggested, and Kate snorted.

"Game or simulator, I'm dealing with six hours of training a day. I don't need any more."

The two men exchanged a glance. "She... has a point," Ty admitted.

Pete yawned in agreement. "Yep. And in one sentence she renders useless something you worked on for three months."

Kate raised an eyebrow at Ty, who grinned wryly. "I _made_ it a simulator. Before it was just a game. I broke into the code and added a few... improvements."

Kate smirked. She and Mike had been rebels for over a month now, and the relaxed energy that always existed within the camp was addictive. The only thing that continued to annoy her was the fact that he had already been on two missions – one an attack on an Alphae weapon storage base, the other a carefully planned break-out of an ex-politician – and she was yet to leave the camp. Her leg had healed reasonably quickly, more due to her own stubborn will than to the great skill of the camp's lead medic.

"If you don't like my simulator, why are you watching?" Ty asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"Spreading the word. Meeting this afternoon."

"Oh, goody," Ty exclaimed, giving her an exaggerated grin. "Maybe we get to blow something up."

***

"War's over," Jim said in disgust. "Ceasefire is now permanent; the UN has decided forcing a well-trained force out of its stronghold isn't worth the effort, time, or money. Imports and exports may recommence within a few months, as will tourism."

There was an angry murmur around the room. Nearly fifty rebels were gathered into the war room, listening to Jim's report. The rebels preferred not to use formal titles or ranks, but Kate had a growing suspicion Jim was the 'unofficial' 2IC of the camp.

"What does this development mean for us?" called Heath Stanton from near the back of the room. The newest arrival to the camp, he was a strongly built man in his early forties with golden hair and blue eyes. A short beard framed his chin and mouth, and he smiled easily despite the grim situation.

In the centre of the room, Jim nodded slowly. "It helps, in a way. We are no longer having to defend ourselves on two sides. Unfortunately, it means that the Alphae aren't defending on two sides either, and can focus more strongly on us. On a more practical level, it might stabilise the economy a bit." His focus suddenly shifted, resting on the face of a young man with curly black hair standing next to him. "Ben."

"Over the past week, I've been trying to set up a database of known Alphae and Allied officials. While the latter may no longer be of great importance, the former is, and I would like to continue it."

"This sounds good," Mike whispered into Kate's ear, and she jumped.

"Where'd you come from?" she asked, but Ben continued before he could answer.

"The closest Alphae base that would contain this information would be here, twenty kilometres north of the South Australian borderline."

As he spoke, a projector flashed, and a three dimensional image appeared in mid-air. The device sent out a stream of nanoparticles that would have floated away but for the pull of gravity, which was just enough to keep them in place. An image could then be projected onto the hovering particles instead of onto a flat screen.

A stretch of red desert was visible, and Ben carefully zoomed in until it showed an aerial view of a small town.

"Unfortunately, it is one of the most heavily guarded Alphae bases in this half of the country." The image zoomed in again, then panned down, so they were looking at one particular building as if from ground level. It rotated slowly, showing the entire exterior to everyone around it.

A pair of thick steel gates rose four metres into the air. Two fences ran around the entire compound, each as tall as the gate and each with rolls of barbed wire atop it. Suddenly the image flickered, and the realistic desert colours changed to various shades of blue. Kate stared, confused, until she realised that this must be an ultraviolet sensor – between the two fences she could now see a flickering green line.

"I'm sure you're all familiar with the problems created by fences," Ben said, as if sensing Kate's confusion. "But between the two fences is a motion detector – long story short, using ladders to climb over the fence is a no-go."

Several suggestions were made and discounted; how about a "bridge" made of ladders, up the side of the first fence, across the top and then down on the inside? No, because that would leave the invaders vulnerable to the human guards watching the fence. Tunnel underneath? Would be too time consuming and unstable. Bust open the gate? Subtle. We're _trying_ to be subtle.

"How are the gates operated? Is it mechanical?"

The group turned curiously to the speaker, a young woman named Grace. She had been at the camp for nearly four years – her husband was somehow involved with Ace and the Alphae and, disgusted by his actions, Grace had left home to seek out the Resistance Fighters, later to be known simply as Rebels.

Something else about her caught Kate's eye, however. She was five months pregnant. The father could only be someone from camp, but Grace wasn't saying who – and she had never been observed to be in a relationship.

"Here," Ben said, answering Grace's question and pulling Kate back to the discussion at hand. "This switch here, inside the guard house, controls the gate mechanics."

"So we'd only need one person inside the fence, someone who could open the gate?"

Everyone in the room took a moment to consider the idea. Eventually Ben nodded, glancing at Jim.

"One person in, who can overpower any guards they come across, and open the gate. Opening the gate isn't exactly _subtle_, but..." Jim trailed off. Then he shook his head. "Anyway, we still need someone inside, and so far there's no obvious way of getting past the fence."

"What other buildings are in the area?" Kate asked. Surprised by the question, Ben quickly turned to his computer and brought the image out, revealing the small town around the Alphae compound. For a moment, Kate studied the map, while everyone else waited to hear her idea.

***

As Kate lifted an arm and pointed at one of the buildings not too far from their target, Ty followed her gaze, wondering what she could be thinking. "There," she began. "What's in there?"

"Uh, I'm not too sure," Ben admitted. "I don't _think_ it's Alphae owned... there's little to no security around it."

"Parachute," Kate suggested. Several of the rebels nodded, but most appeared confused. She elaborated. "From top floor of that building, parachute across. Would have to be at night, of course. One person."

Ty grimaced, thinking about the game Kate had interrupted earlier that morning. She'd come in just as one of his worms was parachuting from one rocky outcropping to another. He turned to Pete.

"Why didn't _I_ think of that? It's my simulator."

***

Plans for the attack – and what would need to happen once the rebels were inside – continued to evolve as the afternoon continued. Several other ideas for entrance were raised, but in the end, Kate's parachuting plan seemed most likely to work.

Once inside the base, the team would need to move into the building undetected and attach a wireless transmitter somewhere it wouldn't be easily found. Ben and Ty – the two most techno-handy people in the camp – would have it coded to automatically begin cracking the Alphae computer security and transmit all the data it could find back to base.

All the rebels has to do after planting the device was get out. Theoretically simple, however Ben's information about the security levels in the base kept everyone glued to reality.

Then began the debate about who would go. The best number for this sort of mission would be four people, including whoever would be parachuting.

"You're not jumping off that building," Mike murmured into Kate's ear. He didn't need to ask to know that she wanted to go and, while he knew he didn't have a chance of being able to dissuade her, he needed to lay some ground rules.

"I wasn't going to," she replied, turning her head slightly towards him, and he caught the flash of annoyance on her face.

"Sure you weren't."

Before she could reply, someone else was talking. Kate quickly tapped her ear, then closed her fingers together. The motion took less than a second, but six years of practise allowed Mike to catch her message; _My life – my choice_.

Over four hours after the group had entered the war room, the meeting drew to a close. Those going on the mission, including Kate, would meet again later to plan further.

But before anyone could leave, the door opened and Aiden hurried in. Caught halfway between boy and man, he was desperate to join the rebels in active fighting, but – for good reason – the council continued to refuse him. Ignoring the curious glances of those who had seen his rushed entrance, Aiden approached Jim and the two had a quick whispered conversation.

Kate studied Jim's face. There was no sign of worry or fear; instead, a vague excitement. A second later, he nodded and Aiden scampered off.

Almost instinctively, the group sensed that news had arrived, and silence fell as they turned to Jim.

"As you know, Flanagan's Stealth group, often referred to as the southern rebel sector, managed to drive the Alphae from Coober Pedy – and thereby half of South Australia – two months ago. Since then, they've been taking control of as many SA towns as possible."

There were a few nods and murmurs of approval. Sean Flanagan and his southern rebels were on fairly good terms with the central group to which Mike and Kate were now attached.

"We just received word that they've taken Adelaide."

For an instant, there was silence, and then came the first sounds of excitement.

The rebels now controlled two major cities – Adelaide and Melbourne.

***

Infused with this knowledge, the foursome chosen to infiltrate the Alphae base doubled their planning efforts. There was very little in the outback that required major attacks, and yet the central group was one of the largest, although this was possibly because of its high civilian count. Interaction between the rebel sectors – which had each been formed in isolation – was at an all time high.

Jeremy, one of the council members and the most skilled medic in the camp, agreed that Kate's injured knee wasn't going to be a hindrance, and she felt another thrill at the thought that she'd have her first mission.

"What is the _point_ of arriving on time when half the team is late?" Ty grumbled, casting Kate an irritated glance. "Would you sit still? First mission, whoopdy-doo, soon enough you'll get sick of getting shot at."

"Like you did?" Kate smirked, knowing that Ty was eager for any and every mission that came up. At the same time, however, she made a conscious effort to stop tapping her foot.

"Actually, I prefer to go on the ones that let me explode things," he said.

"Like rescuing Allied prisoners?" Kate suggested dryly.

Ty rolled his eyes. "We told you, it wasn't _supposed_ to blow up. Are you ever going to let that go?"

She grinned. "Nope."

"Nothing short of an Alphae attack on McCellan's private residence will excuse them lot from being late..."

"How about a food supply issue?" Jim asked dryly, coming into the small room.

"Food supply issue?" Kate echoed, concern obvious in her face.

"All sorted now," Jim reassured her, deciding not to elaborate further. He glanced around, then turned quizzically to Ty.

"Where are the other two?"

"Was I not just _saying_ that everyone is late? And I take it there's been no Alphae attack?"

"Not here, at least," came a new voice. Heath entered the room, followed closely by a slim woman named Jennifer Lawson. In what she called "a past life" she had been the sort to jump from aeroplanes and tall cliffs as often as possible, and had instantly stepped forward for this mission.

"Alphae attack on Ballarat," Jennifer told Ty, who looked slightly mollified now that the entire team, plus Jim, had arrived.

"They beat them back?" Kate asked.

"We don't know," Heath said grimly. "But they're drawing closer and closer to Melbourne. They want that city badly."

"Of course they do," Ty replied, snorting softly. "If the south-east sectors can take control of Sydney and Canberra... that'd leave most of the south coast under rebel control."

"They'd need a lot more than the east coast," Jim pointed out. "To control the south, we'd also need the rest of New South Wales, and that isn't going to come easy."

"Any more news from Adelaide?" Ty asked.

"Nothing major. Incarcerated major Alphae players, set a fair few lower ranked Alphae to work... and basically tried to bond with the public."

"Good." Ty stifled a yawn, then glanced at his watch. "Can we get started now?"

"You'll make the hit three days from now," Jim began, launching straight into business. "Ty, you're in charge. And the success of this mission is dependent on whether you can get in and out undetected."

"Never going to work," Ty countered. "Which is why I thought of... _this_." He pulled a piece of paper from behind his chair, laying it on the table with a flourish. The four around him studied it for a minute. Kate was the first to respond.

"I don't get it," she said, frowning. She pointed at a squiggly line in the centre of the diagram. "What is that?"

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Please, Kate, it's quite _obviously_ a river. Or a snake. Or a futuristic impression of Ty's hairstyle."

"Fun-nee," Ty growled, rotating the picture. He waited, and still none of them seemed to understand. "Look. It's the water pipe running underneath the town. It has an access point _here_, inside the Alphae security fence."

"Ah, so river was close," Heath quipped. Personally, he'd thought the squiggle was some sort of power cable.

"How does this help?" Jim asked. He'd had a lot more practise than the other three at interpreting Ty's pictures, and thus was having a little more success understanding the diagram.

Ty pointed at a square located halfway along the squiggly line, which they took to be the access point; most likely a tunnel leading down to the main pipe. With a start, Kate realised that the entire picture was a map of the compound, but one that included the underground pipes and cabling.

"I'm going to blow it up," he announced, his demeanour changing; to sobriety rather than the expected excitement. He brusquely readdressed the diagram. "We _cannot_ get in undetected. What we can do is make them think that we were there for a reason other than why we were."

Kate nodded, understanding. "So they'll think it was a rebel attack aimed at destroying, or at the very least damaging, their water supply. The Alphae will put resources into fixing that... and they'll never even wonder what else we did there."

"Exactly."

"Means splitting your team up," Jim warned. "Two people to lay the device; two to do actual damage to the pipe."

Ty stared at him unflinchingly. Jim's eyes narrowed.

"No." For another moment, they continued to battle silently, before Jim repeated himself. "Absolutely not. Pairs, Ty."

There was another tense pause, then Ty sighed. "Fine. Kate and I will plant the device –" He looked up at her, and she nodded. "– and Jennifer and Heath can do the fun stuff." A little bit of his usual zest returning, he added, "I'm thinking a hydro-sulphuric explosive, possibly with some magnesium. Actually, make that a lot of magnesium."

***

"The meeting went well?" Mike asked, one hand unconsciously reaching out to grab Kate's as she passed him in the hallway.

"Very," she replied. Her fingers started to curl around his; then she seemed to change her mind and pulled them from his grasp as she walked past.

Living in a house together reeked of normal, and it had taken some weeks for them to grow comfortable with the concept. It almost felt as if, surrounded by change and disaster, they weren't allowed the moment of ordinary. They had learned to accept it, in the way they accepted every other change that haunted the new world.

Kate would be leaving in the morning, and a small part of her felt some sense of satisfaction at the thought that now Mike would have to deal with her risking her life – maybe he'd work out what she was worried about every time he went out.

"Be careful," he warned, as if reading her thoughts.

She snorted. "Well, I wasn't going to... but seeing as you asked – no, _commanded_ – maybe I'll give 'careful' a try."

Before Mike could comment on her sarcasm, she had her arms around his neck and was kissing him. For an instant, he wanted to snap at her, ask her what was going on; and tell her to make up her damn mind.

_Do you want me or not?_ he asked silently. But it had been far too long since he had last held her like this, and he didn't dare question her out loud.

When he woke in the morning, she was already gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**2020 – Rebel, Chapter Two**

It was what the rebels called their 'fleet'. Approximately a hundred and fifty vehicles, ranging from top-of-the-range military-style hydrocars to a beaten-up petrol-powered ute. Many rebels had brought their own vehicle when they joined, and ordinary cars were quickly modified to include SVDs (Small Vehicle Detectors, which worked like radar), anti-SVD shields (which would hide a vehicle from sight on an SVD), and basic weapon deflectors.

"We could have needed it," Ty muttered obstinately, driving his modified four wheel drive south towards the Alphae base. It was the car he had owned when he first came to the rebels and, even though it was technically available for anyone to use, everyone still thought of it as 'his'.

"Daniel was right. And I highly doubt you'll need it," Kate told him, grinning. The desert landscape continued to flash past, barren and boring – conversation was the best way to pass the time, even though they didn't have anything important to say.

"See, _highly doubt_. It's not certain. I _might_ need it."

"It's not yours, anyway. And you've got enough explosives to keep you occupied."

Ty sighed. Despite being eager to get going, he'd fallen into a ten minute argument that morning with Daniel Horse, one of the council members, over whether or not he could take 'his' Charlock.

"I suppose. But it'll be Heath and Jenny getting to play with –"

"We will not be _playing_, excuse me," Jennifer called from the back seat, lightly nudging Ty's seat with her foot. "And don't call me Jenny, Ty. You know what happens when you do that."

Ty winced, and nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Kate smirked, remembering the incident that had followed Ty using 'Jenny' a few too many times; the bruise on his jaw had lasted a week. Seeing the confusion on Heath's face – he had arrived the day after the incident – she began to describe the scene.

***

The drive took most of the morning, and they stopped a few kilometres away from their destination. By arriving several hours early – they couldn't make a move until it was fully dark – they would have time to examine the land and rest up. As soon as the attack was over, they would have to flee north, before the Alphae were able to organise an offensive.

"You ready for tonight?" Kate asked. While Heath and Ty investigated the town, the two women were relaxing in the shade created by the car.

Jennifer nodded. "Pretty much. I've base jumped before, this'll be just like that. Only harder."

"Harder?"

"Height. The building I'll be jumping from – good spot, by the way – is only just tall enough. Any less, and there wouldn't be enough float time... and jumper goes splat." Jennifer made a face. "I can handle it, though. And think, that's the easy part!"

"_Hey girls, can you hear me?"_ asked a voice, and Kate jumped.

Jennifer chuckled, and tapped her right ear. "We hear you, loud and clear. Anything to report?"

"_Nope. Just wanted to show Kate and Heath how these things work,"_ Ty replied, his voice coming through a small speaker inserted in their ears, similar to a head phone nub. A high sensitivity microphone meant all they had to do was speak out loud and they could instantly communicate with everyone else in the team. The official name of the device was Duplex Electro-Acoustic Wireless Transducer; unsurprisingly, they were more commonly referred to as DEAWTs.

Kate had used one in training before, but never in the field – and there could be quite a difference. Out here, there was the possibility of background noise, static, and the user had to be very careful of whether their transducer was switched on while they were talking casually to a team member – even if what they were discussing wasn't secret or important, random messages through an earpiece could distract someone at a vital moment.

Kate reached up to her ear, and tapped the sensor that turned her microphone on. "They're working very well today," she pointed out. The transducers commonly had problems with transmission.

"_That they are. Anything on the SVD?"_ Heath asked.

Kate and Jennifer simultaneously turned to look at the screen in the car behind them. It remained blank.

"Nope," Kate reported. She could hear a faint excitement underneath Heath's words, and understood exactly what was going through his mind. _We're finally here. We're doing this._ It was exactly how she felt.

"_Ah. So that's an Alphae car with SVD shielding racing towards you?" _Ty guessed, breaking into her thoughts.

Both women jumped up, eyes scanning the desert around them, hands reaching for the guns strapped to their thighs. A second later, they heard Ty chuckling.

"_Kidding. But keep it in mind. We're not in Kansas anymore, girls."_

"I know that," Jennifer growled. "Get back here, Ty, so I can hit you again."

There was a pause, and then Heath's amused voice came over. _"Oh good, now Ty's run away. Guess we'll have to do this one on our own."_

***

Crouched beside the hulking shape of the car, eyes straining for any sign of movement, Kate no longer felt so excited. It was dark – incredibly dark. The sun had begun to set shortly after six, and eight hours later the entire landscape was black. They didn't dare use torches to light the way, and didn't have night vision goggles.

When they had approached, there was no doubt which was their target. The entire site was more heavily guarded than a maximum security prison – and with a start, Kate wondered if perhaps it _was_ a prison. Apart from a vague layout and the fact that the information they needed was here, she had no idea what the base was used for.

"What's keeping her?" Heath murmured. Ty had brought the car closer, to allow them quicker escape, and they crouched beside it, waiting for Jennifer to open the gate from inside. Armed with something that resembled a hang glider more than a parachute, she had crept towards the building to their right nearly half an hour ago.

Ty tapped his microphone on. "Jennifer, can you hear me?"

A minute passed in silence. Heath shifted nervously, while Kate kept staring forward into the darkness, wishing she could see something.

"Jennifer. Answer me, damn you. Jenny!"

"Something's wrong," Heath muttered, moving forward a single step, as if he was about to go after her.

Ty lifted a hand to calm him. "These things are unstable at best. Probably just the usual transmission error."

They continued to wait.

Forty minutes after their last contact, the gate in front of them began to open. Heath breathed a sigh of relief, but Ty made no move forward. Kate continued to stare at the darkness.

"_Gate's open, matriarch,"_ said Jennifer in their ears. _"And I've got some new intel. There's a static field around the entire thing – I think it's responsible for cutting out the DEAWTs."_

Ty nodded, satisfied, and the three of them began to move forward. The code word 'matriarch' was to be used when everything had gone as planned.

Stepping through the open gateway sent a shiver down Kate's spine. She gazed around, every nerve tingling but, despite her heightened senses, she couldn't see any more than a vague outline of the building.

"You know what to do?" Ty asked Jennifer, and she nodded. She and Heath quickly made their way further into the compound, the latter carrying a narrow box, while Kate and Ty headed in a different direction. Kate had the computer device in one pocket; earlier, she'd been astonished by its size.

As they passed the guardhouse next to the gate, Kate glanced in, and saw a single Alpha slumped in his chair. Whether he was dead or just unconscious, she couldn't tell, and she quickly returned her attention to moving silently through the darkness.

She had no idea how Ty found his way to the nearest doorway, but in less than a minute they were leaning against the side of the building, a doorknob pressing into Kate's back.

"Go," Ty whispered, and she twisted the handle. Some part of her had expected to find it locked, but the instant she applied pressure, the door swung open smoothly. Ty held a pistol-shaped stunning device out in front of him as he stepped through, but lowered his aim when he found the corridor deserted.

"This way," he instructed softly, moving left. There were stairs at the end of the hall, but before they reached them Ty steered left, into a small room. Inside were several shelves, each holding a row of brick-sized metal containers; external hard drives. Kate pulled the miniature computer from her pocket and passed it to Ty, who set about attaching it to the wall behind the shelves. It was unlikely that anyone would find it there.

"I've said it before," he murmured, glancing at the storage devices. "They keep trying to make them smaller, but they _can't_ – no-one can – while they're still using binary."

"What would you suggest?" Kate asked quietly, still watching the doorway and listening for the sound of anyone coming down the hall.

"Hex or even octal would be too hard for humans to comprehend, but even a base three or four system would massively increase productivity."

"_Don't care, Ty,"_ said Jennifer through their earpieces. He quickly turned his attention back to the mission.

"You ready, Jenny– fer?" he asked.

"_Ready when you are. What sort of fuse will this give us?"_

"Reckon you'll have about thirty seconds. Just press the button and let the powder do the rest."

"_See you soon, then."_

As eager to get out as she had been to get in only a few hours ago, Kate led the way back down the hall. Just before they reached the door, a sound came from behind them. A man appeared at the top of the stairs and, even in the darkness, Kate could see the glint of metal at his waist. Ty cautiously aimed the stunner, waited patiently for a clear shot, and then fired.

The Alpha crumpled, and Kate felt Ty grab her wrist, pulling her towards the door.

"Run," he snapped, and the two bolted away from the building, towards the gate.

Kate kept expecting to hear the sound of gunfire behind them – or worse, Targa-fire. She knew from experience that a bad hit from a rubber bullet was as painful as a copper one.

What she didn't expect was a crack like thunder rip through the air behind them. Even Ty seemed a little alarmed by the strength of the explosion, but his stride didn't falter. A wave of heat buffeted their backs as they raced through the gate, and upon reaching the car Kate looked back.

The left side of the building was on fire and, as she watched, a brilliant white light suddenly flared up. There was a second deafening blast and chunks of brick and wood were sent flying – each of them burning bright white. She stared for a moment, before Ty pushed her into the car.

"Don't look at the light!" he hissed. She wasn't going to argue; her eyes were aching from the momentary exposure, and she didn't want to find out what would have happened if she'd seen more than a glimpse.

Jennifer and Heath appeared from the darkness straight ahead, while the blinding silver light continued to burn on their right. Eyes gleaming, Jennifer jumped into the driver's seat before Ty could.

As the car accelerated away from the successful mission, Kate grinned. "Was _that_ supposed to happen?" she asked Ty, who laughed.

"Of course it was. Of _course _it was!"

***

They took a roundabout, twisting journey back north. Even though there was no pursuit in sight, it wasn't worth the risk that they were being observed. More than anything else, more crucial than any mission or life, was the secrecy surrounding the location of the rebel base. They rotated the driving every few hours, the passengers taking the chance to sleep, even as the four wheel drive shuddered over large rocks and holes in the poorly-kept road.

Finally, as dawn broke – exactly twenty four hours after leaving camp – Ty pulled over to the side of the road.

"Sleep," he grunted, the adrenaline and excitement of the night gone.

***

It returned six hours later when the weary group finally re-entered the rebel camp – but only for a moment. There was a cheer from those who heard that the mission had been successful, but none of the group were quite ready for celebrations.

Kate searched for the pair of eyes she knew would be there, somewhere. Finally spotting Mike as he pushed through the crowds, she let exhaustion take over. When he reached her, he pulled her close to his chest, and lightly kissed the top of her head.

"Have fun?" he asked quietly, determined not to mention the fear that had kept him awake all night.

She made an odd sound, halfway between a sigh and laugh, which he took to mean yes. Too worn out to do much else, she left her head against his chest, ignoring the congratulations and questions sent her way.

"Tired," she mumbled eventually, and Mike led her away from the crowd. Jennifer and Heath had already made their escape, and from the way he was swaying on his feet, Kate knew that Ty wouldn't be able to stand much longer.

Mike had come back exhausted from both his missions, and now Kate understood why. When she felt the soft warmth of a bed underneath her, she didn't have the energy to question how she had reached it, and simply allowed sleep to take over.


End file.
